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Concerned citizen appeals to legislators for help
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Posted on May 01 2020
Concerned citizen Peter Reyes Muña appeals to legislators behind a glass panel to look into the community benefit fund and help the people of the CNMI during the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation Session at the House Chamber last Wednesday. (IVA MAURIN)
A lone member of the community expressed frustration regarding the community benefit fund at the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation session last Wednesday, and appealed to legislators to help people by looking into this.
Casino operator Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC is supposed to endow this fund but, according to Peter Reyes Muña, “Where is the $30 million? Nobody knows where it is. There are a lot of people suffering out there.
“This is really, really urgent. People are suffering and if you don’t hear the suffering, then you should not be in there,” he added. “These are our relatives, our cousins, our uncles. …We have to help them. We really do.”
CBF is a contractual obligation of IPI, spelled out in the Casino License Agreement, as part of its contract with the CNMI government and the public. Of the $40 million that should have been put into the fund since 2018, only $3 million could be accounted for. With the CNMI in a fiscal crisis, the CBF money could have been used to benefit health care, public education, retirement benefits, and infrastructure.
“This is another way of what we call putin haga. Puro putin haga, they just streamline the whole thing. You guys are left to vote on it, and nobody knows about it. That is not right. Think about it,” Muña said.
He added that not only a few should have the privilege to receive all these things that are coming in from the casino. “People are suffering and there’s no reason for them to suffer. You’re supposed to help the public. The public is the one who put you in there, and they’re the ones who are [going to] vote for you, so help them.”
The impassioned plea came after Muña asked the House to postpone the voting on the three nominees for casino commissioners—Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, Rafael S. Demapan, and Mario Taitano—stressing the necessity for ample time and due diligence in such decisions.
Incidentally, no voting was made after the session got prematurely adjourned following an unannounced power outage. The next SNILD session is yet to be scheduled.
